Asia Pacific markets traded largely higher on Thursday as investors digested Japan’s record trade deficit of 3.5 trillion yen ($26 billion U.S.) – according to Refinitiv data. Investors also digested a stronger than expected U.S. retail sales report from Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 index regained 194.58 points, or 0.7%, to 27,696.44.
On an annualized basis, exports rose 3.5% higher at 6.55 trillion yen, while imports surged 17.8% to just over $10 trillion .
Following the announcement, the Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the US dollar, trading at 133.84.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index hiked 175.5 points, or 0.8%, to 20,987.67.
Australian markets progressed, as unemployment figures for January came in higher than economists expected.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 dipped 30.2 points, or 0.7%, to 4,093.49.
In Korea, the Kospi restocked 47.58 points, or 2%, to 2,475.48.
In Singapore, the Straits Times recovered 30.41 points, or 0.9%, to 3,311.23.
In Taiwan, the Taiex jumped 117.61 points, or 0.8%, to 15,550.50.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 climbed 74.63 points, or 0.6%, to 12,157.75.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 58.1 points, or 0.8%, to 7,410.31.
